Parkinson’s Explained: Symptoms, Treatment, and Living a Normal Life

Anthony Gonzalez, M.D., FACS, FASMBS, is chief of surgery at Baptist Hospital of Miami and medical director of bariatric surgery at South Miami Hospital. He is also a member of Baptist Health Medical Group, an organization of more than 180 physicians in multiple specialties closely aligned with Baptist Health South Florida.

Dr. Gonzalez is a general surgeon with a specialty in laparoscopic and bariatric surgery. He has presented at national and international medical conferences on bariatric, abdominal, colon and robotic surgery. Dr. Gonzalez is founding program director of Baptist Health's MIS/Bariatric Surgery Fellowship. He has published in medical journals, including the official journal of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, Hernia and the Journal of Obesity Surgery. Dr. Gonzalez is a senior member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons and Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Gonzalez is a graduate of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. He is an associate professor of surgery at Florida International University's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and a voluntary assistant professor of surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Samer D. Tabbal, M.D., is a board-certified neurologist, director of the movement disorders program and the Endowed Chair in Movement Disorders at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute. He specializes in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, botulinum toxin (Botox) injections and deep brain stimulation programming for Parkinson’s disease, tremor and dystonia.

Prior to joining Baptist Health, Dr. Tabbal was the professor of neurology and attending neurologist at Penn State College of Medicine, in Hershey, Penn. During his career, he held the position of director of the Deep Brain Stimulation Program for Parkinson’s Disease and Other Movement Disorders at Washington University in St. Louis for 10 years and developed a movement disorder center at his alma mater, the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

Dr. Tabbal earned his medical degree at American University of Beirut. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and a two-year fellowship in movement disorders at Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City. 

Widely published in peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Tabbal’s research focuses on the mechanisms of action of deep brain stimulation and its effects on brain imaging, movement control, cognition and mood.

Dr. Tabbal is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and a member of several other professional organizations.

Dr. Tabbal’s clinical philosophy is to treat patients as if they were family by providing compassionate, personalized care to enhance their well-being.

Dr. Tabbal is fluent in English and Arabic. When he is not researching, educating or treating patients, he enjoys spending time with family as well as hiking, biking, cultural travel, philosophical discussions, watching soccer, scuba diving and exploring marine animals.